| Big boost for county to purchase new park land |
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| Wednesday, 27 May 2009 | |
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Managing editor Anoka County has received a financial shot in the arm in its efforts to purchase 550 acres of property for park purposes along the Rum River. The Minnesota Legislature in the waning hours of the 2009 session last week approved a bill that included millions of dollars for park and open space projects to be funded through sales tax revenues resulting from the constitutional amendment passed by the voters in the November 2008 election. As part of a $68 million package it recommended to and was passed by the Legislature, the Lessard Outdoor Heritage Council, which was established by the Legislature to recommend how 33 percent of the sales tax revenues from the constitutional amendment should be spent, included $1.9 million for Anoka County to help it purchase property east of the Rum River and Rum River Central Regional Park. “We are very pleased,” said John VonDeLinde, county parks and recreation director. But this is only the first installment of the county’s request to the Lessard Outdoor Heritage Council for this park acquisition project, according to VonDeLinde said. The heritage council will consider allocating more dollars to the project during its next funding cycle, which will result in a recommendation to the 2010 Minnesota Legislature, he said. According to VonDeLinde, the county was approached by a consortium, Gold Nugget Development Corporation, which owns some 822 acres of land in the area, about purchasing 550 acres of that property. Negotiations are under way with the company for the purchase of the property, VonDeLinde said. A good portion of the property is wetland and most of the rest is marginal to develop at best, he said. If the acquisition goes through, the county plans to create a conservation area rather than an active park, VonDeLinde said. The 550 acres includes wetland, 100-year flood plain, non-native forest, crop land, flood plain forest, grasses, marsh, oak forest, oak savanna, fen and wet meadow. The county would construct some trails and a parking lot on County Road 9 as well as provide fishing platforms along the Rum River, VonDeLinde said. The county has also applied to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for funding for this project through the DNR’s remediation grant fund program. VonDeLinde expects to hear whether this grant request has been approved in early June, he said. According to VonDeLinde, this DNR grant program, which was originally administered by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency with funds from insurance settlements involving old landfills, provides money for open space projects near where those landfills were once located. The 550 acres are located near the old Oak Grove and Anoka-Ramsey landfills. “This program helps local governments acquire and restore or establish native plant communities in areas that have been affected by closed landfills,” said Park Planner Karen Blaska. If the DNR grant is approved, the county plans to transform 125 of those 550 acres into native prairie. Right now, corn is grown on the property by a farmer, who is renting the land from Gold Nugget Development Corporation, Blaska said. Restoration work would include introducing over 30 species of native grasses, sedges and forbs to restore the mosaic of dry, mesic and wet prairie habitats, according to Blaska. In addition, high quality fens, wet meadows, shrub swamps and oak savannas would be managed to maintain their high quality value, Blaska said. The estimated cost of this restoration project is $116,000. The grant request is for $90,000 with the county picking up the $26,000 balance through in-kind labor and equipment. The park property the county wants to purchase lies in both Oak Grove and Andover with a small portion in Ramsey. Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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